Middleton, Catherine! HUFFLEPUFF!

September 1, 1993

Eleven year old Kate stood in a line along with the other first-years in the Great Hall. On either side of her, students sat at two long tables. Her knees shook, but taking heed of her mother's advice she kept her chin up and a smile on her face.
"Middleton, Catherine!"
Kate walked up to the front of the hall and sat on the stool. She could feel every eye in the room trained on her. The weather was nice, she thought. She wondered if it would hold up.
"HUFFLEPUFF!" the Hat shouted.
Kate looked at it, puzzled. She hadn't known hats could talk. Maybe once she went home, she could make one of her fascinators talk, too. Pippa would like that. Kate sat at the Hufflepuff table, introduced herself to everyone, and then politely pretended to be interested in the proceedings. Little did she know that she would continue to do that for the rest of her life.

~

Think about it. What really defines Kate? Is it her intelligence, thirst for knowledge and sharp wit? As if. Her bravery? Hardly. Then is it her cunning, ambition and resourcefulness? Well, it runs in her family, certainly, but I think what best defines Kate is the fact that she's pretty and nice to people. A Hufflepuff, if there ever was one.

If you're wondering what prompted this sudden sorting, it's the fact that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, along with Prince Harry, are visiting the Warner Brothers Studio in Leavesden this Friday. Next Friday, I'm visiting the Warner Brothers Studio in Leavesden. When I found out, I spent the whole day fuming. It wasn't because I have wanted to see the Duchess in real life ever since she became and Duchess and now I wasn't going to. It's because I came so close... and missed.

So, if you ever have to tell a story about terrible timing, tell of how I would have seen the Duchess (And a currently unmarried Prince Harry) in the flesh had I gone to London one week earlier. Or don't. I'm sure any story would be more interesting that.

I wish you every happiness for the next week. (No pictures today, I'm sorry.)
N

Birthday Blasts

Today is my birthday.

When I was introduced to the Internet, I was in my Harry Potter phase, so the first thing I did was Google Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson. When I Googled her, I found out that her birthday was on the 15th of April, only one day before mine. For the past few years I bemoaned the fact that my birthday was on the sixteenth, and not on the fifteenth.
During the course of last year, I learnt that three royals; Margrethe II of Denmark, Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, and his son Prince Sebastian of Luxembourg are all born on the 16th of April. That's two more royals than any other day of the year. So I figured that if I aspired to be royalty, this date was the best day to be born on.

When I woke up in the morning the first thing I saw all over the Internet were posts about the blasts at the Boston Marathon. Being from India, where violence on the grounds of religion and caste are a fairly common occurrence, I wasn't as shocked as most people seemed to be, but I still felt sorry for the victims.
Hours afterwards, the videos and tweets about the blasts kept coming, and they were starting to unsettle me. So, I turned off my news updates, and watched Alex Day read Twilight for a while. It was such fun that I watched him read the entire book. Once again, I found myself wondering if I should send Alex a copy of New Moon.

When bad things happen, like acts of terrorism or a World War, I find it nearly impossible to read about the disaster or look at pictures of it. And I don't. I choose to not focus on the things that have already happened, and instead on the fact that I'm still alive, and so are the people who matter to me, and on Anne Frank's belief that despite everything, people are really good at heart. And that gives me some solace.

Here's a picture of Pippa Middleton to cheer you up.

Have a safe week,
N

Crack Ships, Thatz Not Okay, and Whether Fergie is a Daughter of Athena : Random Thoughts

Today's post will be slightly longer than any of my previous ones because I've had all week with nothing to do but write it.

A few days ago, I came across the term 'Crack Ships' on Tumblr. I Googled it, of course, and found that crack ships are like regular ships, only the two people in the pairing come from completely unrelated fandoms.

Now, I didn't discover the concept, because I already... crack shipped? I just realised that I'm not the only one doing something so stupid. And a learnt a very important lesson; being on the Internet is a good morale booster. No matter how stupid you are, you'll always find someone on YouTube or Tumblr who is even more so.

Currently, there are two crack ships in my Top 15.

7. Prince Harry and Taylor Swift

What would fans of Taylor Swift like better than an album about some ex-boyfriend of hers? An album about a royal ex-boyfriend. Because, really, it would be foolish to pretend that that relationship would last. And, on the off chance that it does, she would make a great Princess. Much better than Cressida Bonas.

Taylor Swift and Prince Harry are just the kind of people who would go out with each other. She's power hungry and looking to get the most famous and well connected boyfriend in all the land, and he seems to have a thing for tall blondes (in remembrance of his mother, perhaps) who are significantly, but not a whole lot, younger than him.

This ship may turn out to be not as ridiculous and impossible as I'd thought, though. Prince Harry is going to the United States of America soon, and Taylor, apparently, is desperate to meet the Prince, which means she will do anything in her power as multi-millionaire singer/songwriter to become a royal girlfriend.
Poor Ed Sheeran.

13. Louis Tomlinson and Jennifer Lawrence

It sometimes irks me when famous people have not-so-famous significant others. I start to wonder how they met and how the relationship began and whether it's all just a scam by the not-so-famous one to get their pictures in the papers every now and then.

Jennifer Lawrence and Louis Tomlinson are both at the top of their game right now. She just won an Oscar, and he's part of the biggest boy band in the world. Also, as is evident from the assortment of videos on YouTube, both of them are hilarious while doing interviews and the such. Just think what would happen if they were doing interviews about each other.

Jennifer broke up with her English boyfriend Nicholas Hoult some months ago, and (please don't hate me for saying this), but I don't like Louis' girlfriend Eleanor very much.

What I did discover this week was a weekly column in the Internet 'news and gossip sheet' The Gawker, called Thatz Not Okay. In it, Caity Weaver gives questionable advice to her readers who ask her whether their actions were okay or not okay. I found it after I read Weaver's article about the Duchess of Cambridge, loved it, and wanted to read more. So, I Googled her - Caity Weaver the Gawker- and found the advice column.

I read through all of them in one day. I haven't laughed so much since Maureen Johnson last updated Notes from a Neighbor. Which is further proof of my theory that while the English are better writers in general, Americans are better on the Interwebs. A theory which you did not know, until I mentioned it in passing just now. More on that next week, unless Queen Elizabeth dies.

Also, I saw this picture of Fergie, from the Black Eyed Peas, and her husband Josh Duhamel.

Is it just me, or do Josh and Fergie look exactly how Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase would grown up? (If they survive Tartarus, that is.) If it's not just me, does that mean Fergie is a daughter of Athena?
More like daughter of Apollo. Or Aphrodite.

More next week.

N

Life Is A Hunger Games

I got done with my exams last Wednesday, following which I came home and slept for a few days. I dragged myself out of bed again on Saturday morning, when I hurriedly threw some clothes into a bag (and forgot some in the process) and went outside of town with some friends for the weekend.

It was during this excursion that I developed the analogy. There were twenty of us, and the place we were staying in was quite like an arena. There was a central dining area, the rooms were ridiculously far apart, and it took a lot of walking to get from anywhere to anywhere.

For the entire weekend, I kept saying that we were in the middle of a Hunger Games, and that the gamemakers would unleash their mutts upon us at any second. That managed to annoy everyone who I spoke to about it, but I can hardly be blamed. It was all very suspicious.

For the last week, I have been having nightmares, most of which involve me being unable to answer the questions in an exam, and subsequently failing the exam (*knocks on wood*). I know that it isn't something that can happen now, because I distinctly remember answering everything, but that doesn't stop the nightmares.

Those nightmares were the same kind, on a smaller scale, that Katniss has after her first games, further intensifying my feeling that I was in some kind of giant Hunger Games. And then it struck me; life is a Hunger Games. You spend every minute trying to survive in a massive arena, where everyone is trying to kill you, trying to change you into someone you're not. And there is never a victor. The only way that anyone can leave is dead.

As a sidenote, I crossed one thousand views sometime last month, while I was off the grid, so thanks!

The Duchess of Cambridge with her foot stuck in a grate. It was the high point of my St. Patrick's Day.

N

*writes a blog post*

I have exams beginning this Wednesday. *sighs*

As is evident, I have developed an unhealthy obsession with the asterisk, and using it to denote action. Last month, I had a thing for exclamation marks, and the month before that, a thing for commas, randomly inserted into a sentence.

You would not be wrong if you said that I was crazy.

There were two major developments with the English royals this week. One, the Duchess of Cambridge debuted her royal baby bump.

Usually, when the Duchess does these official engagements of hers, I make it a point to find out about the charity she's visiting and the cause that they support, so I don't seem like a someone who reads tabloids just to comment on what their favourite celebrities are wearing or doing. This time, I don't even know what the place is called. I just wanted to see irrefutable proof of the fact that a royal baby is going to be born come July.

Two, things have gotten serious between Prince Harry and his girlfriend, who were pictured publicly displaying affection while on holiday.

 Now, I know that it isn't the best news for everyone who hoped to join Kate in the ranks of Princess, but I'm actually quite pleased about it. Partially because I didn't like Chelsy Davy, but primarily because her name is Cressida Bonas. No one but a character from Harry Potter could pull off a name like that, and she's pulling it off. Which obviously means that she is a witch.

Ponder on that for the next month. I wish I could, but I have to write my exams. Wish me luck!

Here's the new poster for Catching Fire. If you look very closely, there's Katniss and Peeta standing under what I can only assume is a Capitol building.

N

An Assortment of Things

This Thursday was Valentine's Day which should have resulted in a post about something to do with Valentine's Day. Unfortunately, there is something else, that I have to get out of the way before it's too late. And by too late, I mean April.

Today's post, instead, is about the five things that I am most looking forward to in 2013. For people with similar interests to mine (Royalty, YouTube, never going into the sun) it is a list of things that are both fun, and important. To lot's of people.

For those of you who know nothing about me, now you know that I don't like leaving my house.

WILLEM-ALEXANDER'S ASCENSION
April 30, 2013

I've already had a post on this (here) but I'm still looking forward to Willem Alexander's ascension. I have never seen a coronation at the same time that it happens, so in many ways this is a first for me. Also, while I am very familiar with how royal proceedings are carried out in England, I'm a bit unsure as to how it works in the Netherlands, so that's another something I need to learn after I've watched the entire ceremony.

Queen Beatrix at her Coronation in 1980

PRINCESS MADELEINE'S WEDDING
June 8, 2013

I did a post on her engagement, too (here) and it is perhaps what I'm most looking forward to this year. It features everything I love about royalty; wedding dresses, tiaras, and a whole lot of royals under one roof. It's also the first really big wedding since William and Kate got married (Not counting Guillaume and Stephanie, because I had exams then too, and didn't pay much attention), and I'm going to be rooted in front of my computer through the whole thing, trying to identify as many royals as I can.

Madeleine's sister, Victoria, at her own wedding in 2010

THE BIRTH OF THE BABY OF CAMBRIDGE
July, 2013

It seems that I've had a post (here) about everything on my list. And while the Swedish wedding is what I'm most looking forward to, this baby is what I've been looking forward to for the longest.
And I'm not the only one. All of England is eagerly awaiting the birth of their future King or Queen, the first heir to the throne to be born in thirty years.

The last was Prince William, born in 1982

CATCHING FIRE
November 22, 2013

Finally! Something that isn't royalty, and that I haven't mentioned before.
This is the first time since Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows : Part II that I've wanted a movie to come out so desperately. I think the main reason for that is because I don't approve of their casting. Especially the actor they've gotten to play Finnick Odair.

I was disappointed when they announced who it was going to be, but I hoped that the producers and make-up artists would work some magic and really make him look like the hottest guy in Panem.

But then they release these promotional pictures and... no. So, obviously, the reason they cast him was because he is a fantastic actor, which is why I have to see the movie. Also, because I've read the book.

The fifth thing on the list is of no real relevance to anyone but me, but I'm going to write about it anyway.
This summer, I'm going to London. I've never been to London before, so this is quite a big thing for me. London is one of my favourite places in the world, and every minute that I'm there I'm going to be hoping that I bump into a member of the royal family. Or one of the cast of Harry Potter. Or someone off YouTube.

Or J. K. Rowling. I really want to meet J. K. Rowling.

N

Part III : Special Mentions

I know. I know it's been more than three weeks since the actual Golden Globe awards, but I'd finished writing all three posts two days after the event. All I do every Saturday is click the publish button. But you didn't need to know that.

Anyway, today's post, the third part of the three part series, features those dresses which, while extremely lovely, could not really be pitted against any royal gowns, sometimes owing to the fact that they weren't made of enough fabric to meet royal standards. Nevertheless, here goes.

1. Miranda Kerr

I realise that Miranda is a Victoria's Secret Angel, but there are times for modelling lingerie and the red carpet at the Golden Globes is not one of them. Still, she looks lovely. And having an escort like Orlando Bloom works in her favour too.

2. Taylor Swift

I've already compared Taylor Swift's dress from the front to one worn by Crown Princess Victoria at a Nobel Prize ceremony, but I think it's the back and the train that made it, leaving Taylor looking more stunning than she ever has at an award ceremony.

It's hardly surprising, though. A post-breakup Taylor seems to be doing everything to show Harry Styles what he's missing (Reminds you of a certain someone doesn't it?), which mainly involves showing up at events brimming with self confidence. And plunging necklines.

I wonder when she'll write a song about him.

3. Jennifer Lawrence

I did not particularly care for Jennifer Lawrence's dress, but since she went to all that effort to mention that it was Dior haute couture, I'm going to give her a special mention.
Also, Jennifer is currently suffering from Pneumonia. I really hope they've finished filming Catching Fire, because I can barely wait for it as it is. If they push the release date back by even one more day due to delays, I'm going to have a fit. Oh, and I hope that she gets better.

4. Jessica Chastain

I know nothing about Jessica Chastain except that she won a Golden Globe for Zero Dark Thirty, and that she seems like a perfectly lovely person. And that she has hair like Foxface.

In this picture, she's holding her award. Because everyone looks better holding an award.

Normal posts resume Saturday.

N